


Bleak December

by MoonflowerMJ



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Deceit Angst, Good Deceit Sanders, M/M, Multi, Omg I hate myself for hurting Deceit, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-09-17 03:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16966956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonflowerMJ/pseuds/MoonflowerMJ
Summary: >And what are you to meBut a fly inside a web of lies you weaveYou're not fooling anyoneNot you, not me<His eyes began to tear up as the lines repeated in his head. He never meant for them to find out. Where did he slip? Where did he go wrong?Inspired by the song Bleak December by Set It off





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Illusion isn't a side peeps, and he's my original character so please don't steal him ;-;  
> I got the idea for this from Bleak December by Set It Off, but instead of this being about a cheater in a relationship, it's about angsty and good Deceit.

Deceit let out an annoyed sigh as he did his best to untangle the lights. He was trying to decorate the dark green Christmas tree he had in his room. As much as he wanted to, he didn't have the courage to go ask one of the light sides for help. So instead he gave up on the lights and put the few ornaments he had onto the tree. Sure, it looked nothing like the bright and warming tree the other sides had, nor did it look cheerful and inviting like the tree his host had but...it was better than nothing. Deceit put the tangled lights back into the back and put the box back into the closet. Then he flopped on his bed and looked at the nearly bare tree. Part of him was upset that he would be spending yet another holiday alone but another part told him he deserved it. He was a dark side after all, why would anyone want to spend any holiday with him? He heard a hissing sound and leaned over the side of his bed to see a silver colored garter snake on the floor. It was the size of a baby garter snake, which made Deceit realize who it was.

"Illusion? What are you doing here? Won't Roman be mad at you?" Deceit asked, his concern for the snake showing. He watched as the snake turned into a side like figure. The whole left side of Illusion's face was covered in grey scales down to his neck. He wore an over sized grey sweater that covered his hands and a pair of black skinny jeans. But what was most striking about Illusion was that both of his eyes remained snake like and green. Deceit was always jealous about this feature on Illusion but never said anything about it, lllusion covered his non scaly side of his face with his very floofy hair anyways.

"I wanted to check on you Dece, isss that a crime?" Illusion asked, sitting on Deceit's bed. "I may be from the Imagination, but Roman still gives me free will." He gave Deceit a soft smile. Deceit returned the smile, happy to have at least one other snake person there, even if the other wasn't a side. He sat up and studied the way Illusion dressed in his human form.

"Must be nice to be able to hang out with the others. I'm just a background character to them.." Deceit sighed, resting his head on Illusion's shoulder. Illusion blushed a little and ran a semi scale covered hand through Deceits hair. He had stolen the bowler hat and put it on himself as he usually did when hanging out with Deceit. The deceiving side had gotten used to it and always expected it to happen.

"Sssometimesss it'sss nice. It dependsss on how all of them are feeling. Roman and Logan often get into argumentsss when Roman comes up with illogical ideasss." Illusion's tongue flickered per usual whenever he pronounced S's in words. It never failed to make Deceit giggle and Illusion happy that Deceit was showing his true colors. "When wasss the last time you ate a proper meal?"

Deceit sat up quickly, the smile fading almost immediately as he messed with his gloves. When  _was_ the last time ate a proper meal? He couldn't remember so he just shrugged. 

"Come on then, you need to eat." Illusion stood up and pulled Deceit to his feet. The lying trait sighed as he allowed the other to pull his out of his room and down the stairs. But he hesitated as soon as he saw that the others were in the living room decorating the place with holly, wreaths, and holly. Illusion gave his hand a squeeze before leading Deceit to the kitchen. 

"A-are you sure they won't mind me grabbing food? I mean..I usually just eat when they're done with dinner and Patton's putting leftovers away.." Deceit looked behind him nervously. He could feel his anxiety rise, which is bad since Virgil will most likely appear. Illusion hugged him tightly.

"You don't need to worry about it Dece. If you don't eat, you'll be weak; if you're weak, you can't keep Thomas safe. Isn't that what you're trying to do?" Illusion reasoned. Deceit sighed and nodded. He  _did_ want to protect Thomas. That was the point of his creation anyways. If he wasn't there to keep Thomas safe from the harsh reality of the truth in most situations, bad things could happen to the host. "Then eat. Don't worry about what they'll say."

Deceit nodded again and watched Illusion prepare a bowl of ramen noodles. After the garter snake man was done preparing the food, he handed the other his bowl. Then he went to the fridge and grabbed a can of whip cream. If there was one food Illusion would eat, it was whip cream. He didn't care what brand it was or what container it came in; he just really loved whip cream. He made Deceit sit at the table to eat while he sat on the table with the whip cream can and turned back into his original snake form. Deceit just stared at the food absentmindedly. He was hungry if he was being honest. Illusion made a hissing sound as if to encourage him to eat.  Deceit hesitated before taking a bite and-

_"What are you doing here snake face?"_


	2. Chapter Two

Deceit flinched at the voice, knowing too well who it was. He looked up at to see Virgil glaring at him. Deceit tried to answer but his words got caught in his throat. Fear clouded his eyes but he refused to let the anxious one know. Illusion thankfully saved him.

"He hasss the right to eat ya know," Illusion hissed, his snake tail was wrapped tightly around the can of whip cream. "If he doesssn't get energy, he can't do hisss job properly which will hurt Thomasss." The grey garter snake was mad that no one even tried to be nice to Deceit. Virgil looked surprised to see the little snake there, which made Illusion happy.

"I-It's fine Ill, I'll eat later. I'm not really hungry right now anyway." Deceit got up and threw away his uneaten food. He didn't want to lie to the only person that really trusted and cared about him, but he had no choice. It was either tell the full truth and hurt Illusion or tell a half-truth and spare Illusion the worry. So he chose the half-truth. Illusion looked at him with a familiar expression. The same expression Deceit had once given Virgil after his first small fight with Roman, the expression Deceit knew way too well. 

**Pity.**

Deceit snapped his fingers and disappeared.

* * *

Virgil stared at the spot where Deceit had previously been. He was...confused to say the least. For one, Deceit never came out of his room often and having saw him kinda set off his anxiety. "What do you 'can't do his job properly'? He seems to be doing it just fine." 

Illusion shook his snake head and used his tail to spray the contents of the can into his mouth. He slicked his lips with his forked tongue and slithered to the edge of the table closer to Virgil. "Are you that denssse? You of all people know how it feelsss to be an outcassst and thisss isss how you treat him? No wonder he left in a hurry." 

"Hey Virge, what's taking so lo-"  Roman cut his sentence off, seeing Virgil staring blankly at Illusion. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Illusion purposely fell off the table, allowing himself to change into a human for a little. After all, it was hard for him to get anyone's attention when he practically blends in with their grey tile in the kitchen. He went to say something but Virgil beat him to it.

"Deceit came out of his room and left a couple minutes ago."

* * *

Deceit was pacing in his room, panic filling him to the brim. Why did he even allow Illusion to bring him out of his room? Why did he let Illusion make him something to eat? Why-

He shook his head. All these "Why"'s were going to make his anxiety thicker and draw Virgil close. He had to calm down, he couldn't risk anything. Deceit sighed and sat on his bed, he did his best to calm down.

 _They **love** you! They really  **do** care about you Deceit. You're  **important** to Thomas and they would  **love** to spend their Christmas with you. _His room comforted him. He sighed and allowed the room to lie to him. That's what his job is...right? Lying and deceiving everyone. 

"I'm the villain," Deceit mumbled. "I don't deserve a happy ending, nor do I deserve to spend a nice holiday with the heroes of my tale..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the best chapter in the world but im sick and my creative side isn't helping me at all.


	3. Chapter Three

Illusion looked up at Patton from his spot on Logan's neck. He would've chosen to stick with his usual spot on Roman but the prince wasn't willing to let the garter snake feel comfortable. So he chose the alternative; Logic. 

"So, you were the one to bring Deceit out of his room, yes?" Patton interrogated the snake. Illusion nodded in his reptile way. Sure, he could talk since all creatures from the imagination had that power (thanks to Roman) but he didn't feel the need to. "Why did he leave as soon as Virgil saw him?" 

Illusion sighed- or at least, did the snake equivalent to a sigh- and allowed himself to speak. He didn't like speaking unless it was around the prince or the "villain" but this was important. "Becaussse he isss afraid of you all. Essspecially sssince you all make it ssseem like he'sss the bad guy." 

"But he  _is_ the villain! He tried to get Thomas to lie to Joan!" Roman argued. The silver garter snake hissed as to shut him up. Roman huffed, crossing his arms as he gave a small glare.

"You obviousssly don't know him that well and you  _asssume_ he's a villain. Didn't your hissstory with Anxiety teach you anything? You thought he wasss a bad guy but he'sss not! You gave him a chance but you won't give Dece one?!" Illusion snapped at him. He used his tail to rub his face, like a human would do when they're annoyed.

"While Roman does have a point about Deceit trying to get Thomas to lie, I also see how..." Logan trailed off, not knowing the garter snake's name. None of them do except for Roman, seeing as none of them really acknowledged Illusion before. Illusion whispered his name to Logan and received a nod from the logical side. "I also see how Illusion here has a point about assuming. We all thought Virgil here was a villain one point in time until we got to know him better, Deceit might be the same case." 

Patton nodded, understanding the situation at hand. "I say we give him a chance, and if he proves us wrong about being a helpful side to Thomas...We send him back to the Dark Sides." 

Virgil sighed, having stayed quiet during the whole conversation. "I guess we can try, but if he dares to lay a finger on any of you, I won't hold back." Roman nodded in agreement to Virgil's statement. 

Illusion smiled in his own way, proud to have helped convince them to give his Snake Boi a chance.

* * *

Deceit was laying in his bed staring up at his ceiling. His stuffed snake, Rumplesnakeskin, was being used as his pillow. The old worn out patches comforted the misunderstood side and often brought him a sense of peace. His room was a lot like Patton's, showing memories and having a nostalgic feel to it, but was a bit darker. It showed bad memories that one wanted to forget and it didn't have very many items in it-that was Patton's hobby, not his-but it did give him a free will to tell the truth with ease and show what he wanted without causing trouble. 

A knock on his door startled the deceiving trait, as he wasn't one to get visitors. Illusion never knocked as he had always just appeared in the room, so it confused Deceit as who it could've been. He got up with hesitance and slowly opened the door. It confused him even more to see all the main sides there, with Illusion still on Logan's neck. 

"Uh...What do I owe the pleasure of being visited by the Light Sides?" He didn't care to say a lie, he just wanted to be left alone...or at least he wanted to believe that he wanted to be alone. "If you're concerned about me plotting anything, I haven't."  _Unless you count sneaking into the kitchen at midnight to eat something_ was left unsaid. He looked at each of them, not knowing what they wanted. Have they come to yell at him for being spotted in the kitchen earlier? Are they going to send him to the Dark Sides over him being hungry? What would the Dark sides do if they did send him back? What if-

"Deceit, kiddo, calm down." Patton placed a gentle hand on the other's shoulder. Said side flinched under his touch, but did his best to lower the anxiety and stop the anxious thoughts. "We just wanted to invite you for dinner and a famILY movie night." Deceit couldn't detect a lie in the statement and slowly nodded. Patton gave him a small smile and motioned for the snake trait to follow them. 

Deceit flinched as he received a couple glares from Roman and Virgil but didn't want to upset Patton, so he did as he was told. He followed Patton to the Light Sides' living room and sat where Patton told him to, curling up in a ball so he wouldn't take up any room.

* * *

Dinner was going better than they all expected. Deceit hadn't said anything other than a quiet 'thank you' to Patton, and he sat further away from them as the table allowed. Illusion had disappeared somewhere but it didn't really concern any of them. Logan was the first to notice how little Deceit was eating, and how he flinched whenever anyone spoke to him. 

"So, Deceit, what's better? Pixar or Disney?" Roman asked, needing a tie breaker. Deceit looked up from his plate and gave a questioning look, then shrugged and had a calculating expression. 

"A-although they both  **don't** have their pros and cons, I very much  **don't** p-prefer Disney. Especially Jungle Book..." Deceit looked back at his plate of food and began to slowly eat again. Logan had already explained that they would most likely need to flip his words from time to time, so Roman gave Deceit a bright smile.

"DISNEY WINS!" Roman cheered, causing the others to laugh. Deceit slightly smiled, a warmth blossoming in his heart at the sight of the others being happy. He quietly stood up and threw the rest of his food away, then went to do the dishes. None of the others noticed his disappearance at first, they were much more focused on what Disney movie was better. Deceit just listened from the kitchen, chuckling to himself every now and again from the small comebacks each of the sides gave.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know Black Butler?  
> More specifically Black Butler: Book Of Circus?
> 
> Deceit kinda reminds me of Snake. And in my humble opinion, Snake is a very underrated character that deserves more love. Deceit deserves love too.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit gets cuddles!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to come out yesterday but I had wifi issues. Please forgive meh ;-;

Slimy Boi had just finished the dishes and was starting to tidy up the already clean and organized kitchen. He was trying to avoid being in the same room as the others, he knew they didn't like him. He sighed and walked out after seeing there was nothing to clean up, only to be tackled into a hug by Patton. Deceit gave the moral side a  ~~Patton~~ awkward pat on the back. He wasn't used to positive physical affection. 

"There you are! We thought you ran off." Patton exclaimed. He stepped back, letting go of the part snake Side. Deceit shrugged, not knowing what to say. He could practically taste the half lie the Light Side had told. He gave his signature smirk but it was forced, not that they would notice. 

"You  **weren't** worried about little old me?  **Do** worry I'm  **not** staying." Deceit replied. Patton took a moment to process it and nodded. He grabbed Deceit's arm and took him to the living room with the rest of the Sides. Deceit did his best to not look at the beautiful Christmas Tree that stood tall in the Mindscape. He didn't want them to see how jealous he was that they could spend the holiday as a family while he was alone. 

"Pick a movie Deceit," Patton stated in a kind way. Deceit hesitantly grabbed a random movie and looked at the others for approval. They all nodded and Deceit put the movie in. He sat on the floor in front of the couch instead of on it.

_I don' t deserve to sit with the others. I'm an outcast..._ He thought as the movie started. He curled in on himself and kept his eyes on the screen, doing his best to not let his mind or attention wander around. 

* * *

The movie had ended and the Sides retreated to their rooms. All except Logan and Deceit. Logan had noticed Deceit was asleep on the floor. He carefully picked up the other, making a mental note about how really light he is. The logical trait set the slimy boi on the couch carefully and summoned a blanket and pillow for him. Then he turned to go to his room. Just as he was about to leave, a hand weakly grabbed his. Logan looked down at the hand and then looked at Deceit. 

"Stay? Please?" Deceit asked in a sleepy voice. He looked afraid as well as tired, he looked up at Logan with sleepy eyes. Logan thought about the pros and cons of staying with the other, then snapped his fingers to turn their attire into their onesies. Logan in his unicorn and Deceit in a snake one. Instead of laying on the couch, Logan took Deceit into the logical trait's room. 

Deceit leaned into Logan's chest as the other carried him. He was too tired to care where they were going, he just didn't want to be alone. Logan set him on the bed once they got to the logical side's room. Deceit let out a small quiet whimper from the loss of warmth but didn't want to see needy. He was met with a pair of arms holding him close and a hand running through his hair. In the dim light from the glow in the dark pain on the ceiling, Deceit was able to faintly make out Logan cuddling him. He snuggled into the touch and drifted off back to sleep.

Logan chuckled and continued to keep Deceit close. What caused him to allow a falsehood embodiment into his room, he doesn't know. What he did know is that he found comfort in the other's company. Sure, Deceit could've found a better way to reveal himself to Thomas, but said side was also self-preservation and Logan understood that. Logan slowly drifted into unconsciousness, holding Deceit close to him.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy NEWSIES Year!  
> Wow, I never thought I would survive 2018 just by watching the broadway musical Newsies XD

As morning rolled around, Patton was the first to wake from his slumber. He skipped to the kitchen and began making breakfast. Instead of the usual four plates, he pulled out five. Roman and Virgil were the next two sides to wake up. The three sides were confused; Logan was usually the first one to be up, if not the second one. Patton decided to go check on the logical side, just in case he was hurt or sick.

He knocked on the dark blue blue door. "Lo?" He called out softly. When he received no answer, Patton slowly opened the door to reveal Logan still cuddling Deceit. Patton quietly squealed and pulled out his phone, taking a picture. Deceit heard the camera sound and shot up, thinking it was one of the dark sides. Upon seeing it was just Patton, he slowly laid back down and rubbed his eyes. 

"It  **isn't** too early to be awake right now..." Deceit mumbled as he glanced at the clock on Logan's nightstand. Logan began to stir, telling Patton and Deceit that he was waking up. 

"What are you doing here Patton? Did something happen?" Logan asked, his voice rough from just waking up. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and put them on. He looked at Patton confused. Patton shook his head and smiled. 

"I was just checking on you. Since you're usually up earlier I thought I might see if you were ok." Patton replied with a small giggle. Logan sat up and nodded, snapping his fingers so that his pajamas changed into his normal attire. The sleepy snake beside his mumbled something about going to his own room and teleported away.

"I had woken up early this morning to a panicking Deceit, he seemed to have had a nightmare of some sort," Logan straightened his tie  **[that's pretty much the ONLY straight thing about him-]** and followed Patton down the stairs to the dinning room. "Salutations Roman, Virgil." 

"Hey Specs!" Roman greeted with a bright smile. Virgil did a little salute and shoved a forkful of pancake into his mouth. "Where's Jason Deceitful? I thought we were all supposed to be here." 

Patton and Roman exchanged looks before sighing. Patton motioned towards Deceit's room, a sad look in his eyes. 

* * *

 

Deceit paced his room, mumbling to himself. He was trying to decide whether or not he should join the others to eat. When he had finally made his decision, he turned towards the door and reached for the handle.

"Hey babe," a voice spoke from his bed. Deceit whipped around, sighing in relief when he saw that it was just Remy with Illusion around his neck. "What'cha up to?" He took a sip of his coffee.

"I was just about to eat with the others. If they allow me to, that is." Deceit smiled at the SubSide. Remy chuckled and nodded, following the deceitful trait to the dining room. 

He was hesitant to make his presence known but Remy did it for him, yelling out something about "the queen arriving". 


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay in the updates. Things have been stressful and I kinda forgot about this. I worked on this chapter for a while, so I hope it meets your standards.
> 
> Also, thank you for all the support in the comments and the kudos. ^~^

Everyone turned their attention to Remy and Deceit. Deceit playfully punched Remy's arm and glared at the vine side. Remy just gave Deceit a sly smile and went to the fridge. 

"Uh..M-mornin'," Deceit greeted quietly. "I-I  **wasn't** here to uh...join you?" He avoided eye contact with the others, not knowing if he was welcome to join but not wanting to look. 

"Of course you can join us! You can too Remy." Patton exclaimed. He dragged Deceit to the table and made him sit down next to Logan. The snek boi blushed lightly but kept a  ~~straight~~ gay face nonetheless. 

"No thanks hun, Illusion and I have some things to do," Remy stated as he squirt some whipped cream into the mouth of the impatient snek on his neck. 

"I'll ssssee you later Dece!" Illusion said. "We'll ssssunbathe in the Imagination if you want. I don't care what Prince Roman sssaysss." 

Roman made an offended noise and mocked hurt. Illusion did the snek equivalent to a laugh before Remy walked off. Deceit did a little salute to Illusion, a small smile on his face. Patton set a plate of food in front of Deceit, causing the snek boi to jump slightly. Deceit offered him a tight smile and a (no) thank you, then began to "eat". He listened as everyone around him was engaged into a conversation, no one noticing how Deceit wasn't eating nor how he put up an illusion that his plate was empty. He just silently sat there, enjoying the warmth of the atmosphere. 

_I don't even know why I bother trying any more. It's not like they'll ever truly like me anyways..._ Deceit thought to himself. He sighed quietly and started scratching his wrist lightly. The snek boi jumped when he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder. He shied away from the touch and looked up to see Logan Patton standing there. 

"Are you alright kiddo?" Patton asked quietly. Deceit hesitated before answering, unsure of how he should reply. 

" **Yes,** Morality, I'm  **fine.** just  **tired.** " Deceit replied. He grabbed his plate and went to go do the dishes. 

He passed Roman and half expected him to make a stupid remark. That's what Apathy does anyhow. He kept to himself as he took his gloves off to do the dishes; the warm water helped him stray away from unwanted thoughts. He began singing the first song he thought of.

"Give me, give me, give me the truth now, oh oh oh," He started softly, "I promise I can handle it if you can, oh oh oh, cause you've been running from yourself for way too long. Give me any reason not to cut you out, you're far to gone." He didn't notice the Side watching him from the kitchen entrance, he was focused on cleaning the dishes. "As I drive and drive in that bleak December, you're just too cold, but I need the answers, before you fold. You would hold your cards inside your chest, I think I drove too far, in that bleak December, whoa oh oh and how full of shit you are..." 

"So...Who're you talking about?" The side asked. Deceit dropped the knife he was washing out of shock, wincing as it made a small slice in his hand. Deceit turned around saw Roman standing there. 

"Does it matter?" Deceit asked quietly. He went back to doing the dishes, not caring about how much his cut hurts. Roman gently stopped him before he could hurt himself again. Deceit flinched and took his hands away from the prince. "I  **know** why you're bothering me. I'm  **not** busy."

"I came to ask a question but I didn't want to interrupt your singing," Roman replied. Deceit rolled his eyes, making a gesture that told Roman to hurry up. "Have...have you ever loved someone but were too afraid to tell them?" Roman looked at Deceit with fear in his caramel colored eyes.

"Does it matter? Even if I did fall in love with someone, they would never reciprocate my feelings." Deceit turned back to the dishes, making sure to be extra careful with the knife this time. "Why? Do _you_ have a crush on someone?"

Roman hesitated before nodding. "I don't know why I bothered to ask you of all Sides. I guess I just thought that you would be easier to talk to than the others. Patton would get all emotional so that strikes him out, Logan wouldn't understand because it contains emotions so he's automatically out, and Virgil..."

"He's the lucky one, aye?" Deceit smiled a little. Roman blushed furiously and hid his face in his hands. Deceit chuckled, "He's a keeper, Creativity. Let him know how you feel and take things at his pace. He /is/ Anxiety after all, and he can get overly anxious fairly quickly. So move at the pace that he feels most comfortable and let him get used to the idea of someone loving him."

"You seem to have experience with Virgil. Did you two ever date?"

"No, I was simply a father figure to him."

Roman hummed before something clicked in his mind. **Deceit wasn't lying.** The deceptive trait didn't even seem to notice that he had no ability to lie at the moment. "I'll leave you to finish, I'm going to talk to Virgil and take your advice." Roman left Deceit to do his own thing.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez, I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I've been busy with school and updating my books on Wattpad. Well, book since my other two don't get updated as often xD. Check out my wattpad if ya want, or don't, ya don't have to:  
> @xXCr-ativityxX

Deceit finished the dishes sometime later but never put his gloves back on. Instead, he had them tucked into his pocket as he walked towards his room in a slow and zombie-like manner. It seemed like he stayed in his room more than Virgil did, and that was saying something since the emo hardly ever came out of his room. 

"Deceit, may I require your assistance?" Logan asked from behind Deceit, nearly scaring the man. Deceit turned to face Logan, obviously confused about why him of all people. 

"Uh. . .sure, I guess. What do you need me for?" Deceit asked, looking interested. Logan blushed slightly, much to Deceit's amusement. 

"I am conducting an experiment and the others are not available. I have a potion that I want to try out for scientific purposes." Logan pulled out a vile with a mint green colored liquid inside. "I do not know what the side effects to it are yet but it is supposed to help reveal true emotions by making your eyes change color. Would you like to assist me?"

Deceit shrugged and looked in the direction of his room. Deciding that it would be better than sitting alone bored in his room while Illusion was with Remy, Deceit sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll help with your experiment. What do I get in return?"

Logan pushed up his glasses and fixed his tie nervously. "Wh-what do you want in return?"

"Honestly, nothing. I just thought I should ask." Deceit took the vile from Logan and looked at it before drinking the liquid. It tastes like peppermint candy canes. "How long until it takes affect?"

"I do not know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Would you like to watch a snake documentary with me?" Logan smiled ever so lightly. Deceit looked at him shocked and confused. He hesitantly nodded and followed Logan to the commons, sitting on the couch in a ball to not take up much space.

"You honestly don't have to do this," Deceit murmured, picking at the scales on the back of his left hand. He was grateful that someone was willing to hangout with him, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like it was just pity. His eyes turned a shade of blue without him knowing. 

Logan wrote down the color and meaning in his handy dandy notebook before placing a hand on Deceit's shoulder. "I know, but I want to. You don't receive enough credit for the things you do correctly. Instead, we all only focused on the negative aspects of your trait, making you an outcast and a victim to 'bullying' like Virgil."

Deceit looked up at Logan before looking down again. He took his gloves out and put them back on before standing up. "I  **deserve** to be shown kindness and I  **love** how all of you just pity me. It makes me feel  **amazing** and I hope you  **never** stop. I  **won't** be in my room or the Imagination if my assistance is needed for Thomas' sake. . ." Deceit walked away, his eyes going from dark blue to bright red and back to light blue. 

Logan sighed and wrote what red meant in his handy dandy notebook before curling up where Deceit had been sitting. Logan truly did want to hang out with Deceit and he never pitied him in the way that Deceit accuses him of. "What have we done to him. . .?" Logan asked himself quietly. "It's like he's trying to hide how he feels. . ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Where does it say you gotta live and die here?  
> Where does it say a guy can't catch a break?  
> Why should you only take what your given?  
> Why should you spend your whole life livin  
> trapped where there ain't no future, even at seventeen?!"  
> \--Jack Kelly, Newsies
> 
> I'm obsessed with Newsies, forgive me please. Also, would ya'll read a Sanders Sides/Newsies crossover story? I've been thinking about making one but i dunno...


End file.
